St Mary's Church, Stockport

St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, from the south
St Mary's Church is located in Greater Manchester
St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church
Location in Greater Manchester
53°24′40″N 2°09′20″W / 53.411234°N 2.155514°W / 53.411234; -2.155514
SJ 898 905
LocationChurchgate, Stockport, Greater Manchester
CountryEngland
DenominationAnglican
ChurchmanshipCentral[1]
Websitestmarysinthemarketplace.com
History
StatusParish church
Architecture
Functional status
Active
Heritage designation
Grade I
Designated14 May 1952
ArchitectLewis Wyatt
Architectural type
Church
StyleGothic
Completed1817
Specifications
MaterialsChancel sandstone
Rest of church limestone
Administration
ProvinceYork
DioceseChester
ArchdeaconryMacclesfield
DeaneryStockport
ParishStockport and Brinnington
Clergy
Rectorvacant

St Mary's Church is the oldest parish church in Stockport, a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on Churchgate overlooking the market place. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) as a designated Grade I listed building.[2] It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Stockport.[3]

History

A church stood on the site by 1190. A sandstone church was built during the incumbency of Richard de Vernon (1306–1320), and only its chancel survives.[4] The remainder of the present church was constructed between 1813 and 1817 to the design of Lewis Wyatt.[2] A further restoration took place in 1848 to replace weathered masonry,[5] and additional restoration was carried out in 1882. The tower originated in the 14th century and was rebuilt between 1612 and 1616, and again in 1810.[6]

Architecture

Structure

The chancel is built in local red sandstone in the decorated style. The rest of the church is Runcorn sandstone in the perpendicular style.[5] Its plan consists of a west tower, a wide nave with galleries, a south porch, and a chancel with a vestry to its north.[5]

Fittings and furniture

The roof of the chancel is the original single-framed timber roof. In the sanctuary is a double piscina, a large triple sedilia and, in a recess, the damaged effigy of Richard de Vernon, who was rector of Stockport from 1306 to 1334.[4] In the church are several monuments, including one dated 1753 by Daniel Sephton to the memory of William Wright.[2] Other memorials include one to Sir George Warren who died in 1801 by Sir Richard Westmacott depicting a standing female figure by an urn on a pillar, to Rev Charles Prescott who died in 1820, also by Westmacott, showing a seated effigy, to James Antrobus Newton who died in 1823 by Bacon Junior and S. Manning showing a kneeling female figure, and to Mrs Hawall who died in 1852 by Latham of Manchester showing angels hovering over her body.[7] On the chancel arch are the coat of arms of George III in plaster.[4] The parish registers begin in 1584.[4] There is a ring of 10 bells. Seven of these were cast by John Rudhall in 1817 and the other three by John Taylor & Co in 1897.[8]

External features

The gateway to the church and a nearby drinking fountain are listed at Grade II*. The gateway was designed by Lewis Wyatt and consists of three pointed archways, with crocketed finials above the centre arch.[9]

A rectory was built for the church in the 1740s to replace an earlier timber-framed building of 16th-century origin. It served as the home of rectors, and later of the bishops of Stockport, until 1965. The building was converted into a pub-restaurant in 1991, is now part of the Hungry Horse pub chain,[10] and is a Grade II* listed structure.[11] The old ice house still survives within the grounds.

See also

References

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  1. ↑ "A new future for mission in Stockport" (pdf). Diocese of Chester. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Our service tradition is classified as "central" with the use of eucharist vestments, coloured stoles, scarf and hood as appropriate.
  2. 1 2 3 Historic England, "Parish Church of St Mary, Stockport (1309701)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 14 December 2011
  3. ↑ Churches in the Diocese, Diocese of Chester, archived from the original on 15 April 2009, retrieved 22 June 2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 Richards, Raymond (1947), Old Cheshire Churches, London: Batsford Books, pp. 309–312, OCLC 719918
  5. 1 2 3 Wilson, Jo (1998), History, St Mary's Parish Church, archived from the original on 11 January 2008, retrieved 20 December 2007
  6. ↑ Salter, Mark (1995), The Old Parish Churches of Cheshire, Malvern: Folly Publications, p. 70, ISBN 1-871731-23-2
  7. ↑ Hartwell, Claire; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 593–595, ISBN 978-0-300-17043-6
  8. ↑ Stockport S Mary, Dove's Guide for Church Bell Ringers, archived from the original on 22 January 2025, retrieved 11 August 2008
  9. ↑ Historic England, "Gateway to Parish Church of St Mary and fountain to side (1067202)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 14 December 2011
  10. ↑ "Old Rectory, Stockport". Campaign for Real Ale. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Historic England, "Former rectory, Stockport (1356827)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 14 December 2011
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